Vacuum cleaner attachment

ABSTRACT

A vacuum cleaner attachment device may include a housing, a suction inlet on a bottom of the housing and a felt component on the bottom. This felt component may be positioned near the suction inlet to loosen hair and debris in a soft surface. An element may be attached to and extend below the housing. The element may be configured to support the housing at a predefined distance above a hard surface to be cleaned to prevent the felt component from contacting the hard surface. The element may be sufficiently narrow to sink into a soft surface to be cleaned to cause the felt component to be in direct contact with the soft surface.

BACKGROUND

1. Field of Invention

The invention is related to a vacuum cleaner attachment and, moreparticularly, to a vacuum cleaner attachment for sweeping up pet hairfrom both hard and soft surfaces.

2. Related Art

Vacuum cleaners, as well as vacuum cleaner attachments and tools, aregenerally known in the art. However, pet hair removal from hard and softfloor surfaces can be an arduous daily task despite the staggeringnumber of products available to help make the undertaking easier andmore efficient.

Notwithstanding the wide variety of vacuum cleaners and vacuum cleanerattachments and tools, improved pet hair removal devices are needed thatare economical, effective, and easy for a user to operate and maintain.

SUMMARY

A vacuum cleaner attachment device that may include a housing, a suctioninlet on a bottom of the housing and a felt component on the bottom. Thefelt component may be positioned near the suction inlet to loosen hairand debris in a soft surface. The vacuum cleaner attachment device mayinclude an element attached to and extending below the housing formovement of the housing over a surface to be cleaned. The element may beconfigured to support the housing at a predefined distance above a hardsurface to be cleaned to prevent the felt component from contacting thehard surface. The element may be sufficiently narrow to sink into a softsurface to be cleaned to cause the felt component to be in directcontact with the soft surface.

This summary is provided merely to introduce certain concepts and not toidentify any key or essential features of the claimed subject matter.Further features and advantages of the invention, as well as thestructure and operation of various embodiments of the invention, aredescribed in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The foregoing and other features and advantages of the invention will beapparent from the following, more particular description of embodimentsof the invention, as illustrated in the accompanying drawings whereinlike reference numbers generally indicate identical, functionallysimilar, and/or structurally similar elements. Unless otherwiseindicated, the accompanying drawing figures are not to scale.

FIG. 1 depicts a partial perspective view of the attachment deviceaccording to an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 depicts a cross-sectional airflow diagram for the attachmentdevice according to an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 3 depicts a bottom view of the attachment device of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 depicts a side view of the attachment device, including supportelements, according to an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 5 depicts a side view of the attachment device of FIG. 4 withinternal structure indicated by hidden lines;

FIG. 6 depicts a side view of the attachment device of FIG. 4 whereinthe top and bottom portions of the housing are hingedly coupled;

FIGS. 7A and 7B depict partial top and perspective views of theattachment device with support elements, according to an embodiment ofthe invention;

FIG. 8 depicts a side view of the attachment device, including supportelements, according to another embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 9 depicts a side view of the attachment device showing internalstructure with hidden lines, including a housing attachment mechanismaccording to an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 10 depicts a detached side view of the attachment device of FIG. 9;and

FIG. 11 depicts an exploded side view of the attachment device of FIG.9.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Various embodiments of the invention are discussed herein. Whilespecific embodiments are discussed, specific terminology is employed forthe sake of clarity. However, the invention is not intended to belimited to the specific terminology so selected and it should beunderstood that this is done for illustration purposes only. A personskilled in the relevant art will recognize that other components andconfigurations can be used without parting from the spirit and scope ofthe invention. Each specific element includes all technical equivalentsthat operate in a similar manner to accomplish a similar purpose.

FIG. 1 depicts a partial perspective view of the attachment deviceaccording to an embodiment of the invention. A housing 10 is connectedto an attachment inlet 11 through which a vacuum cleaner hose or othersimilar device providing suction can attach.

FIG. 2 depicts a cross-sectional airflow diagram for the attachmentdevice according to an embodiment of the invention. The housing 10 mayinclude an upper member 26 and lower member 25. In an embodiment, thetop member 26 of the housing 10 may attach to the bottom member 25though a hooking device 24 attached to the bottom member 25 that fitsinto the structure of the top member 26. In another embodiment feltcomponent insertion regions 23 may be located on either side of thesuction inlet 28 (See FIG. 3 for further explanation).

Airflow 22 may be sucked into the housing 10 through a suction inlet 28,past a roller 20, and into the attachment inlet 11 which leads into thevacuum cleaner or other similar cleaning device that provides suction.An interior structural element 27 may be attached from the top member 26to guide the airflow 22 towards the attachment inlet 11. In anembodiment, the suction inlet edges 21 may be made with an angle tocreate a scrubbing action. The inlet edges may also act like a comb.

FIG. 3 depicts a bottom view of the attachment device of FIG. 1. Thisdiagram clearly shows the suction inlet 21 and attachment inlet 11 ofthe attachment device housing 10. Additionally, two felt components 30may be positioned on either side of the suction inlet 21. These feltcomponents 30 may be used to efficiently remove pet hair and other kindsof hair from carpet. On carpet, for example, the felt component 30 maybe in direct contact with the carpet surface to loosen up pet hair inthe carpet as the attachment device moves over it. On bare floor, thefelt component 30 may be lifted off (supported above) the surface floorby support elements (see FIG. 4) to provide sufficient space under theattachment for dust particles and other debris to be drawn in and toprevent obstruction of the suction inlet.

FIG. 4 depicts a side view of the attachment device, including supportelements, according to an embodiment of the invention. Again the housing10, including a top member 26 and a bottom member 25, is connected to anattachment inlet 11 through which a vacuum cleaner hose or other similardevice (not shown) providing suction can attach. Additionally, twoelements 40 may be attached to the housing 10 for supporting theattachment device on a hard surface to be cleaned. In this embodiment,the elements 40 are shown as wheels. These wheels may be of a specificdesign to accommodate the different positioning of the felt components30 (see FIG. 3) relative to the surface to be cleaned. The wheels may bevery narrow and may extend just a few millimeters below the bottom ofthe attachment device housing 10. In this embodiment, on a bare floor,or other hard surface, the wheels may lift the attachment device to keepthe felt components 30, attached to the bottom of the housing 10, at adistance above the floor surface to allow dust and debris to be suckedinto the suction inlet 21 (See FIG. 3). On carpet, or other softsurface, the wheels may sink into the thickness of the carpet allowingthe felt components 30, attached to the bottom of the housing 10, to bein direct contact with the carpet to enable the loosening up of pet hairas the attachment device moves over the carpet.

FIG. 5 depicts a side view of the attachment device of FIG. 4 withinternal structure indicated by hidden lines. This diagram shows anexample of how the elements 40 for movement can be attached to thehousing 10. Here, the elements 40 may include front wheels and rearwheels. Both the front wheels and the rear wheels may be attached byconnection points 41 to the bottom member 25 of the housing 10. Thefront wheels may be attached within the housing 10 and the rear wheelsmay be attached outside of the housing 10.

FIG. 6 depicts a side view of the attachment device of FIG. 4 whereinthe top and bottom portions of the housing are hingedly coupled. In thisembodiment, the housing 10 includes a top member 26 and a bottom member25. The top and bottom members 26, 25 may be removably coupled to oneanother on the front end of the housing 10 through a hinge connection60. On the rear end of the housing 10, the top and bottom members 26, 25may be removably coupled to one another through a flexible tab 62 withprotrusions upon which the wheels 40 are mounted. Specifically, a rearflexible tab 62 may be connected to the bottom member 25 of the housing10. The top member 26 of the housing 10 may include a cut out 61 wherebythe top member can close and snap over the flexible tab 62. On the rearend of the housing 10, the user may depress the rear flexible tabs 62 oneither side of the housing 10 to detach the top and bottom members 26,25. This embodiment allows a user to easily clean the attachment devicehousing 10 and to unclog dirt and hair that may have accumulated on theroller and in the attachment inlet 11. All parts can be rinsed withwater to clean. Assembly and disassembly do not require tools.

In an embodiment, a connection point 65 of the attachment inlet 11 isremovably coupled to the housing 10 through a rear mount 66 attached tothe bottom member 25 of the housing 10. Likewise, a front mount 64 canbe attached to the bottom member 25 of the housing 10 to support thefront wheel 40, at a connection point 63, or to support a roller 20 (notshown). The connection points 63, 65 of the attachment inlet 11 andfront wheels 40 may be an axle or a flexible tab.

FIG. 7A and 7B depict partial top and perspective views of theattachment device with support elements, according to an embodiment ofthe invention. Again, the top and bottom members 26, 25 of the housing10 may be removably coupled to one another through a fasteningconfiguration. A rear flexible tab 62 may be connected to the bottommember of the housing 10. The top member 26 of the housing 10 mayinclude a cut out 61 whereby the top member 26 can close and snap overthe rear flexible tab 62. In an embodiment, the two rear elements 40 oneither side of the housing 10 may be squeezed to separate the top andbottom members 26, 25 of the housing 10. For example, a spring mechanism(for example, a cantilevered tab) associated with the rear flexible tab62 may be depressed upon squeezing to allow detachment of the top member26 from the bottom member 25.

In an alternative form, squeezing the rear flexible tab 62 detaches thetop and bottom members of the housing 10 through a lock tab.

FIG. 8 depicts a side view of the attachment device, including supportelements, according to another embodiment of the invention. In thisembodiment, the elements 80 may be sliders rather than wheels. Thebottom member 25 of the housing 10 and the sliders 80 can be made in onepiece (for example, integrally formed), or they can be attached to thebottom by any fastening means, such as for example glue, screws, locktabs or press fit. Sliders 80 can provide the same ease of pushing theattachment device as wheels. They may also be narrow and extend belowthe bottom of the housing just a few millimeters to provide the samefunction as the wheels described above. In this embodiment, the topmember 26 of the housing 10 may include a cut out 81 whereby the topmember 26 can close and snap over the rear flexible tab 82 of the bottommember 25.

While various embodiments of the present invention have been describedherein, it should be understood that they have been presented by way ofexample only, and not limitation. Thus, the breadth and scope of thepresent invention should not be limited by any of the describedembodiments, but should instead be defined only in accordance with thefollowing claims and their equivalents.

1. A vacuum cleaner attachment device comprising: a housing; a suctioninlet on a bottom of the housing; a felt component on the bottom,positioned near the suction inlet to loosen hair and debris in a softsurface; and an element attached to and extending below the housing,wherein the element is configured to support the housing at apredetermined distance above a hard surface to be cleaned to prevent thefelt component from contacting the hard surface, and wherein the elementis sufficiently narrow to sink into a soft surface to cause the feltcomponent to be in direct contact with a soft surface to be cleaned. 2.The vacuum cleaner attachment device of claim 1, wherein the housingcomprises a top member and a bottom member removably coupled to oneanother.
 3. The vacuum cleaner attachment device of claim 2, wherein thetop member and bottom member are coupled through depressible lockingtabs.
 4. The vacuum cleaner attachment device of claim 2, wherein thetop member and bottom member are coupled through a hinge configuration.5. The vacuum cleaner attachment device of claim 2, wherein the topmember and bottom member are coupled through a fastening configuration.6. The vacuum cleaner attachment device of claim 2, wherein the topmember and bottom member are coupled using a combination of a hingeconfiguration and a fastening configuration.
 7. The vacuum cleanerattachment device of claim 2, wherein the top member and bottom memberare coupled using a combination of a hinge configuration and depressiblelocking tabs.
 8. The vacuum cleaner attachment device of claim 1,further comprising a roller within the housing and adjacent to thesuction inlet.
 9. The vacuum cleaner attachment device of claim 6,wherein an outer surface of the roller includes a neoprene.
 10. Thevacuum cleaner attachment device of claim 1, wherein the elementcomprises a wheel fastened to the housing.
 11. The vacuum cleanerattachment device of claim 1, wherein the element comprises a slidermade as part of the bottom of the housing or fastened to the bottom ofthe housing.
 12. A vacuum cleaner kit comprising: the vacuum attachmentdevice of claim 1; and a vacuum configured to attach to and providesuction to the vacuum attachment device.
 13. A vacuum cleaner attachmentdevice comprising: a housing comprising a top member and a bottommember, the bottom member defining a suction inlet opening; means forloosening hair and debris in a soft surface; means for supporting thehousing at a predefined distance above a hard surface to be cleaned toprevent the loosening means from contacting a hard surface; means forsinking the housing into a soft surface to cause the loosening means tobe in direct contact with a soft surface; means for drawing dirt, pethair and debris into the suction inlet opening of the housing; and meansfor removably coupling the top member and bottom member of the housing.